“Gift-card redemptions and post-Christmas bargain hunting seemed to drive consumer demand over the last week,” said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC chief economist and director of research. “For the month of December, we expect sales will post a gain of about 1 percent.

“December’s sales performance will be understated by a calendar mismatch for some retailers, which will depress December’s results by about three-quarters of a percentage point,” Niemira added. “Overall, it was a moderate November-December holiday sales performance, but clearly softer than in recent years,” he added.